College Confidential’s “Dean,” Sally Rubenstone, put together 25 of her best tips. So far, the "25 Tips from the Dean" eBook has helped more than 10K students choose a college, get in, and pay for it. Get your free copy: http://goo.gl/9zDJTM

I wouldn't say that it has much to do with intro courses. Intro physics is pretty basic, like everything else. Physics just gets insanely difficult in the advanced courses and when you have to do 7 courses a semester like you have to for EngPhys at my university, it's a bit of a grind.

What I mean is there is no universal answer for these typical "what is the hardest..." questions; its up to the OP to say what he/she finds challenging.

If by "basic" you mean easy, then you probably dont find many things challenging, Russell. Gen physics or Physics 1-Mechanics was the hardest intro class I've taken on my engineering track thus far, and many of my classmates would agree. For those who say engineering is made hard by its great courseload, I would still say physics 1(4/5 creds) had the most work, imo.

If by "basic" you mean easy, then you probably dont find many things challenging, Russell. Gen physics or Physics 1-Mechanics was the hardest intro class I've taken on my engineering track thus far, and many of my classmates would agree. For those who say engineering is made hard by its great courseload, I would still say physics 1(4/5 creds) had the most work, imo.

I find lots of things challenging. Just not intro courses. Mechanics was a bit of a ****, though, I agree. Mechanics 2 was even worse. Engineering physics doesn't really have anything to do with mechanics, though. It's optics and waves and crap.

Most innovative type of engineering: EE & ME, because they're the most broad and applicable.
Hardest: I'd 2nd barrons on the ChemE, EE, and AeroE. Maybe include engineering physics or engineering mechanics.

what do you mean by that? Engineering degrees are versatile and you can work in many fields. I'm a former math major and now I'm in Mec E because it's (from what I understand) the MOST versatile degree.

I don't get why AE is supposed to be hard. I thought that it was just Mec E with a few different courses. Maybe not.

And over here ChemE isn't supposed to be the hardest... more like 2nd teir behind EE and EngPhys. I've heard it described as "just a bunch of table-monkeying bull****." From the one ChemE course that I took, I have to agree.

It has alot to do with the school. For example, a school with a top 5 BME program, but whose other programs are ranked a fair bit lower, is going to offer the most challenge and intellectual demand in BME. But if their strength is ChemE, then obviously it would be the hardest and most mentally taxing engineering field.

Helpful Links

About College Confidential

Welcome to the leading college-bound community on the Web!

Here you'll find hundreds of pages of articles about choosing a college, getting into the college you want, how to pay for it, and much more. You'll also find the Web's busiest discussion community related to college admissions, and our CampusVibe section!About Us